Is Morocco good for a girls' / friends' group trip?

Girls' trips and friends' groups are some of my favourite itineraries to design, because Morocco gives a group everything it wants in one country: a spa day in a traditional hammam, long lazy rooftop dinners, treasure-hunt shopping in the souks, a camel-and-stars night in the Sahara, and a backdrop that makes every photo look expensive. And the maths works in a group's favour — split a private riad and a driver across five people and the per-head cost of doing it the comfortable way drops dramatically.

My strong recommendation for any group of four or more is to rent a whole riad rather than book separate hotel rooms. A private riad — a traditional courtyard house — gives you your own pool or plunge, a rooftop for sundowners, and a cook who can do a group dinner. It becomes the social hub of the trip, and per person it's often cheaper than a mid-range hotel. Pair it with a private driver and you skip every train-and-taxi negotiation; the group just shows up and the day flows.

On the honest side: Morocco is a Muslim-majority country, and groups of women do draw a bit more attention in the medinas than they would at home — comments, persistent souk vendors, the occasional photo request. It's rarely threatening, but it's real. The two things that defuse most of it are dressing modestly (shoulders and knees covered, especially away from resort areas) and the confidence of moving as a group. Marrakech, Essaouira and the riad/desert circuit are very used to international groups; you won't feel like a novelty.

For the itinerary itself, the sweet spot is Marrakech as a base (souks, hammam, food, nightlife of the rooftop variety) plus a desert overnight and ideally a coastal day in laid-back, breezy Essaouira where the dress code relaxes and the seafood is fantastic. A hammam session midway through is the trip's secret weapon — it bonds the group and resets everyone. Build in unstructured rooftop time too; the best memories on these trips are never the scheduled bits.